24 :: Monolith
by MekQuarrie
Summary: A sinister threat brings disaster to Los Angeles. But its origins are hidden in places that ordinary people cannot imagine. And if CTU can't handle this, who can? :: Note 1: The organization 'AmCo' in this story is completely and intentionally fictional. Note 2: 'Scanners' category first added for this story. :: 'Mono Lake reflections' image reworked from Wikimedia Commons.
1. Chapter 1

4:00 pm

Tony shielded his ears as the blast echoed around the plaza. He kept his head down for a few seconds then looked up.

"Run!" he shouted. Dozens of the passers-by were looking up at the tower of the City Hall, confused. People started to scream.

"Run!" he shouted again pushing a woman with two stunned children away from the direction of the explosion. Rubble and dust was beginning to tumble down the side of the building.

"Officers!" Tony ran across the street to a group of stunned police officers standing by their motorcycles. One had been knocked to the ground by the blast and was being helped up. Another was talking into his radio. "Clear the street," Tony called out. "The building's going to fall."

The officer with the radio looked up. "Stay away from the building," he shouted, waving Tony away. "Get back. Get back as far as you can."

Tony stopped, holding his hand over his mouth, trying not to breath in the dust.

"You don't understand. I'm a Federal agent. My name's Tony Almeida. I'm in charge of the Counter Terrorist Unit here in Los Angeles. I have to get into that building. I have to prevent anything else happening."

The police officer shook his head, still agitated. Sirens were starting build-up from all directions, merging with the confused shouts. Dust was rushing along at ground level, blanking out the view of "We don't know what's happened here. You just said it's going to fall down. I can't let you in if there's more danger."

"There's more danger if my prisoner escapes. Until the Fire Department, or Homeland Security, or your mother turn up, I'm in charge. Do what you're doing. Clear the people away. I'll report back to you about the situation inside once I've secured my target."

The officer started to protest, but Tony strode off into the rolling cloud of dust.

4:05

Chloe rang the cellphone again. Still no answer from Tony. Still no-one there to pass on her information.

"You would think he would have his cell-phone switched on. He sent me here after all. I didn't want to leave town." She was increasingly distracted by the noise from all the slot machines around. They moved out of the main lounge with its arrays of gaming machines into a cooler side-corridor.

"Don't worry, Chloe. Call in to the office instead. CTU can find Tony and pass on what we've found."

"I'm still amazed you haven't been thrown out of here," she retorted. "You look like trouble." She brushed the shoulders of his black suit jacket with her flattened hands.

Luis nervously fingered the white collar around his throat. "That has never been proven," he smiled reassuringly.

"And I'm not so sure what we've discovered," she whispered. "A man who runs a casino knows some shady characters. What a surprise."

Luis nodded. "Shady characters are my business. You're right. These are just ordinary hoodlums. But someone here has a link to the AmCo indictment."

Chloe scowled. "Thank you for recapping, Luis. I do know how to listen in a briefing. No-one said why we had to come up here at such short notice though. The trial could last for weeks. I had to cancel the lecture I was giving this evening."

"I'm sure your students will understand," said Luis. "You're a very important person." He put on his serious face to reassure her.

Chloe looked a little unwell. "Something about a priest hitting on me in the back corridor of a casino doesn't seem right."

"Why don't we go outside and get something to eat?" He pointed to one of the many 'Exit' signs. "I'm sure I saw some proper, non-lethal, restaurants on 4th." Luis was incapable of self-deprivation.

"I don't want to die here or anywhere. Just be patient and our contact will bring us whatever papers he can find as evidence."

A voice from over Chloe's shoulder interrupted their conversation.

"I'm sorry, Father. Could you and your friend show me some ID?"

4:10

Ricardo hated his job behind the concession counter.

"You want salt on your fries?" he asked.

"No. Where's the ketchup?" asked the old lady holding her purse open in one hand. Ricardo loved animals, but his food cart was in the botanical gardens among the flowers. It was not what he had pictured when he quit college.

"Yeah. It's over there on the little table. There you go. Thanks lady. That's four ninety-five."

The lady was surprised. "What? I just asked for fries. Did you charge me for something else?"

"Sorry, lady. It's four ninety-five in the park."

"But I could get them for a dollar at the drive thru."

He nodded. He had made this conversation on many occasions. "If you go to the drive thru before you get to the zoo, or if you want to go on the way home, you're correct, it's a buck. But in the gardens, with all this atmosphere and the food made for you right here where you're standing - I'm sorry - it's four ninety-five."

"I'm sure there's no need for you to talk to me that way," she replied. She rummaged in her purse for more money. "Can't you do a discount for a senior?"

"Uh, if you've got a park coupon, I can give you back a quarter. But, for myself, I don't get any discount at the wholesaler. Potatoes is potatoes." He shrugged again. "Sorry. Alright?"

The lady looked down again, produced a five-dollar bill from her purse and exchanged it for the folded card box. She said nothing more to him but stood looking into the box.

In the line behind her, a large man waved a ten-dollar bill. "Hey buddy. Just pass me two boxes and I'll be out of your face."

The elderly woman turned to face him. "Please don't cut in, young man. I'm still being served," she announced.

Ricardo shook his head. "Don't worry. We're done here. There are your fries, bud."

4:15


	2. Chapter 2

4:15 pm

The lobby of the City Hall was filled with people leaving, the fire alarm ringing out from several locations. Clouds of dust reduced visibility to nil.

"Something went off in the observation deck," shouted a woman in a suit to her colleague.

"Any sign of a fire?" asked Tony. She shook her head.

The blue-shirted security guards were directing people to the exits. Tony ran up to the nearest guard with an earpiece radio.

"The whole top half of the building is falling down. It looks like some sort of high explosive was used. You need to clear the building then get as far away as possible. Put your clipboard away; don't take names. Just get everyone five, ten, as many blocks away as you can."

The security guard moved away speaking into his radio. Tony looked around the lobby. The elevators were automatically shut down, but he needed to get to the twentieth floor in a hurry. But it could be no coincidence that the blast had occurred near there.

"Use all the doors." A member of the cleaning staff was pointing at all the doors and exits. "Some exits behind the stairs," he shouted.

Tony ran up to him. "You there. Is there service elevator? One that might still be working? I need to get to the twentieth floor now. I know people are trapped up there."

The man in his light brown uniform nodded. "Yes. Service elevator at end of corridor. By restrooms." He felt the chain of small keys around his neck. "But wait for Fire Rescue. Too dangerous."

"I have a Federal witness potentially trapped at the top of this building. I need you to show me the elevators. Now. I'll take my own risks."

The cleaner shrugged then unclipped the key. He passed it to Tony then walked two paces to the restroom corridor. "At end," he pointed. "But hurry." He did not move any further, the palm of his hand revealing all that he was prepared to share.

"Thank you," said Tony. "Your country thanks you."

4:20 (7:20 EST)

Lynne Kresge sat in her studio watching the Sun set. She dragged a long brush down the canvas and tried to capture the shade of the trees at the edge of the Chesapeake Bay.

"Wrong again," she sighed. The trees looked perfect, but bore no resemblance to what she was looking at. She turned to the palette propped on the desk beside her. "Less is more."

The phone rang. With her good left hand she picked up the tiny receiver.

"Hello, Miss Kresge? It's Zeke at the White House. We met at the gallery fundraiser last week?"

"Hi Zeke," she said casually. "Thanks for all your help with the charity, but I'm a bit busy right now. Can you call back later?"

"I'm sorry to bother, you this late in the evening, but President Buchanan asked me to call you directly."

Lynne was now a little impatient. "Do you know how many shades of green I've mixed this evening, Zeke? Not enough. It's going to occupy a lot of my time for the near future."

"Green is good, Miss Kresge. I know a lot of good people speak very highly of you. I can see why. Could we send someone to pick you up? Or I could drop in myself? I haven't been out to that part of the Bay in a long time. The President's helicopter is free and I could reach you in fifteen minutes."

Lynne snapped. "No. Don't come here. This is my home." She breathed in and continued quietly, "I'm in charge here; not the White House, not anyone else."

"Of course. Do you have electronic mail? I could send you a briefing. You might find it very interesting."

"Electronic mail?" she snorted. "No, not in the studio. But if you send it to my old NSA address, it still gets forwarded to my Blackberry. I'll pick it up in my study when I get back to the main house."

Lynne hung up the phone. "Shit," she said.

4:25

"You know it's not a crime to come into a casino," said Chloe. "If you don't want people to come in, just hang a sign on the door." She was sitting in an overly comfortable padded sofa in the security control room. Dozens of monitor screens showed real-time images from around the casino. Luis sat beside her trying to be reassuring.

"I agree," he said. "We would like to leave. If you have a legitimate reason to detain us, you should call local law enforcement right now."

"You won't be waiting long, ma'am," replied the security guard. "We're complying with all our legal obligations as we speak, Father." He turned back to his computer terminal and scrolled patiently thru message headers.

"If you're just checking out Craigslist we could leave you alone," Chloe replied sulkily. Luis shook his head to caution her against talking more. But he still smiled.

The door opened and a smartly dressed older woman entered. She wore a visitors pass in the pocket of her jacket.

"Hi there. I'm sure this won't take long." She smiled reassuringly at them. Chloe did not like her teeth. "Could you give us a couple of minutes, Eddie?"

Eddie looked up from his screen, but did not meet her gaze. "I'm sorry, Miss Brown. Mr. Capellini asked me to sit in."

The visitor kept smiling at Chloe and Luis, but directed her voice to the seated man. "Why don't you go for a walk, Eddie? Find Capellini and tell him about your concerns."

Eddie stayed seated in his chair. The fingers of his left hand tapped the mouse-mat nervously. Abruptly, he picked up the telephone receiver beside the monitor. "I just need thirty seconds," he said.

Miss Brown turned her head slightly to him. "We've done this before, Eddie. Put the phone down and leave."

Eddie kept the phone receiver to his ear, but his hand was shaking. He began to speak. "Is Mr. Capellini..?" Then he stopped.

4:30


End file.
